End-of-life notice: American Legal Ethics Library

As of March 1, 2013, the Legal Information Institute is no longer maintaining the information in the American Legal Ethics Library. It is no longer possible for us to maintain it at a level of completeness and accuracy given its staffing needs. It is very possible that we will revive it at a future time. At this point, it is in need of a complete technological renovation and reworking of the "correspondent firm" model which successfully sustained it for many years.

Many people have contributed time and effort to the project over the years, and we would like to thank them. In particular, Roger Cramton and Peter Martin not only conceived ALEL but gave much of their own labor to it. We are also grateful to Brad Wendel for his editorial contributions, to Brian Toohey and all at Jones Day for their efforts, and to all of our correspondents and contributors. Thank you.

We regret any inconvenience.

Some portions of the collection may already be severely out of date, so please be cautious in your use of this material.

Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct

[1] A lawyer should hold property
of others with the care required of a professional fiduciary. Securities should
be kept in a safe deposit box, except when some other form of safekeeping is
warranted by special circumstances. All property which is the property of a
client or a third person should be kept separate from the lawyer's business
and personal property and, if funds, should be kept in one or more trust accounts.
Separate trust accounts may be warranted when administering estate funds or
acting in similar fiduciary capacities.

[2] Lawyers often receive from
third persons funds from which the lawyer's fee will be paid. If there is risk
that the client may divert the funds without paying the fee, the lawyer is not
required to remit the portion from which the fee is to be paid. However, a lawyer
may not hold funds to coerce a client into accepting the lawyer's contention.
The disputed portion of the funds should be kept in trust and the lawyer should
suggest means for prompt resolution of the dispute, such as arbitration. The
undisputed portion of the funds shall be promptly distributed.

[3] A third person, such as
a client's creditors, may have a just claim against funds or other property
in a lawyer's custody. A lawyer may have a duty under applicable law to protect
such a third-party claim against wrongful interference by the client, and accordingly
may refuse to surrender the property to the client. However, a lawyer should
not unilaterally assume to arbitrate a dispute between the client and the third
person.

[4] The obligations of a lawyer
under this rule are independent of those arising from activity other than rendering
legal services. For example, a lawyer who serves as an escrow agent is governed
by the applicable law relating to fiduciaries even though the lawyer does not
render legal services in the transaction.